Boyfriend charged with murder in dismemberment of Farmington woman

A 28-year-old Farmington man has been charged with first-degree premeditated murder in the death and dismemberment of his girlfriend.

William Michael Dhondt, 28, was arraigned via video Tuesday afternoon in front of 45A District Judge James L. Wittenberg.

Dhondt, who is accused of strangling Kaitlin Hehir and using tools to dismember her body, has been in custody since late Saturday night -- approximately 20 hours after an argument became physical shortly after midnight Saturday.

While swearing to a warrant immediately before the arraignment, Farmington Public Safety Detective Andrew Morche said Dhondt admitted to hitting Hehir with a cup, which caused her to hit her head on a dresser and fall to the ground.

He then got on top of her, hit her multiple times in the head with his hands and smashed her head to the ground repeatedly.

"The defendant then used his hands to strangle Kaitlin to death as she struggled and fought for her life," Morche said.

Dhondt had injuries on his hands and arms and told police the entire incident lasted about four minutes.

He dragged Hehir's body to the basement and "used tools to dismember" her, Morche said. He stored her body parts in various areas of the home.

Police initially came to the home Saturday night after Dhondt called 911 and reported Hehir missing. During a search, which Dhondt consented to, police found bloody plastic in the garage. The discovery led to a more thorough search of the home after a warrant was obtained.

Hehir's remains were discovered around noon Sunday.

A not guilty plea was entered on Dhondt's behalf. He has requested a court appointed attorney and will return to court at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday for a pre-exam conference. A preliminary exam is set for 9 a.m. March 12.

Following the arraignment, Farmington Public Safety Director Robert Schulz addressed the media.

When Dhondt called 911, "he had just reported that (Hehir) had been at a social function," Schulz said.

"She had picked him up, taken him home and then he reported that she had left to go back to the social function. He was very cooperative as far as letting the officers in to look around the home, and I don't think we took him off guard."

Dhondt, who was employed at Olive Garden in Novi before his arrest, was convicted of misdemeanor embezzlement in 2005. He also has a conviction for operating while intoxicated, though Schulz was unsure when that offense occurred.

Both offenses took place in Oakland County, but neither occurred in Farmington.

Schulz declined to discuss the particulars of the discovery of Hehir's body.

"We're not going to get into any of the details, partly out of respect for the family and their privacy," he said.

Employees at 47th District Court in Farmington Hills continued to mourn the loss of their coworker Tuesday.?Hehir "was a wonderful employee," said 47th District Court Administrator Dave Walsh.?"She was a bright, very intelligent young woman with a great future ahead of her."?Hehir, 29, was working toward obtaining a master's degree in accounting. She had been employed at the court since 2008 and was hired full time in 2010.

Grief counselors were on hand for court employees.?"We're all deeply troubled by what happened," Walsh said.